Kazunaki Araki’s sculpt reflects how our scientific understanding of Mosasaurus has changed, while retaining more classic, retro traits in appearance.
Dinosaurs have often been compared to modern lizards, perhaps because they tend to be a default image the general public has of reptiles.
With all the new rexes (to be) released, let`s have a look to the past for a change. Almost 30 years ago, in the year 1992 the Californian company Horizon released a small number of high quality dinosaur models made from vinyl. Two of these models are already covered here on the blog, the Elasmosaurus and the Stegosaurus.
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy
Trying to find information about either the creator of these toys, a Chinese company named Yantai, or their American distributor, Learnplay Inc., isn’t easy. According to one of the few sources I was able to find, Yantai has been around since 2011 and their Halftoy line is just one of hundreds of designs they have made.
Time will tell if some of Araki’s artistic license proves true, but there are still definite issues with the design which may turn off more serious-minded collectors.
While long-established companies like Safari Ltd. and Schleich have been going steady, and rising stars like Rebor and PNSO have been conquering the collecting market worldwide, Japanese companies like Favorite have been tending to their own corner of the scene.
Aging and death are two facts of life that many of us has chosen to ignore. In a society that has placed an almost obsessive quest for youth, beauty, and perfection, it’s no surprise that these two inevitable life events remain hidden, lurking in the dark shadows.
Yowie has a very interesting and vast collection of prehistoric critters in their lines, though some have been a pain to write up owing to the lack of material to discuss accuracy with. However, at least most of these had something to go off.
Before we begin the review, I would like to take a brief aside and recollect for a moment, as the date of this posting has some significance to me personally. Today, July 16th, 2021, is my 10-year anniversary writing for the Dinosaur Toy Blog.
During the Cretaceous period, ankylosaurids abounded in Asia even more than they did in North America, with some of the more notable genera being Gobisaurus, Jinyunpelta, Liaoningosaurus, Minotaurosaurus, Saichania, Tarchia, and the subject of this review, Pinacosaurus.
Elasmosaurus is a genus of long neck plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous and lived in what is known today as North America in one of the most famous ancient sea, the Western Interior Seaway.It rivals Plesiosaurus itself in both fame and name recognition, as well as being one of the most produced marine reptiles in toy form.
Review and images by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy
If you are of a certain age then chances are that this animal was not among the species in the dinosaur books that you may have had growing up. Formal recognition came in 1995 (by Rodolfo Coria & Leonardo Salgado) with its name, Giganotosaurus, meaning “giant southern lizard.” A reference to its location in the Southern Hemisphere with remains found in Argentina at the Candeleros Formation.
The Cretaceous period was a time of mighty titans among the dinosaurs, with gigantic animals all across the globe. Largest of these were the sauropods, and they reached monumental sizes, from pony sized to thirty metre giants. They were present on almost every continent, with several on Africa.
In late 2020 Safari Ltd. teased their upcoming dinosaurs with silhouettes of the figures, with two particularly interesting ones, the “fantasy” T. rex and Triceratops. Since Safari Ltd. had just acquired the rights to produce merchandise for the television show Dino Dana, it was assumed by many that those dinosaurs were part of that line.
